Amy Smith
It has been officially announced that Pedro Almodóvar’s latest feature Madres Paralelas will open the Venice International Film Festival.
Almodóvar is no stranger to the film festival circuit, as his two previous films The Human Voice (a short film starring Tilda Swinton) and Pain and Glory (a feature film starring Antonio Banderas) both made the circuits in order to gain critical success as well as award season buzz.
To give a quick rundown of his latest film, Madres Paralelas (translating to Parallel Mothers) tells the story of two mothers who give birth the same day. It is starring Penélope Cruz, Milena Smit, Israel Elejalde and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón.
Speaking about his love for Venice, Almodóvar shares his excitement for opening the 2021 Film Festival: “I was born as a film director in 1983 in Venice in the Mezzogiorno Mezzanotte section. Thirty-eight years later I am called to open the festival. I cannot explain the joy and the honor, and how much this means to me without falling into complacency. I am very grateful to the festival for this recognition and hope to be up to it.”
Madres Paralelas will be screening for the international competition, in which Parasite’s Bong Joon-ho will be the top juror for festival. Other films officially announced to be screening in-competition include Pablo Larraín’s Spencer and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog.
The 78th Venice Film Festival will run from 1 – 11 September 2021.
[…] we reported to you that Parallel Mothers would be the opening film at the Venice International Film Festival, so this […]